June 14, 2011

Robert J. Easton to Moderate Panel on In Vitro Diagnostics

Robert J. Easton will moderate a panel on new trends in the IVD industry at the Wilson Sonsini Medical Device Conference on June 14, 2011, in San Francisco.

Panel Abstract: In vitro diagnostics (IVD) has reemerged as a sector for venture investment.  Scisive Consulting has identified over 200 new IVD companies formed over the past 10 years, most of them addressing one of two broad market areas:

• New Biomarkers – encompasses a wide variety of companies, technologies, and marketing targets. “Companion diagnostics” is the favorite buzz word, but most of the interesting new marker companies are developing tests independent of specific drug partners.  A common thread for many is the use of their own sales force for introducing the novel analytes and analyte patterns directly to prescribing doctors, thus bypassing reference laboratories and the large IVD companies that have dominated the industry for many years. Scisive has christened this new form DTDâ„ , “Direct to Doctor.”
• Rapid Diagnostics – refers to new technology designed to enable testing at the point of care, be that point a department within a hospital remote from the clinical lab (ER, ICU, etc.), a clinic or doctor’s office, a pharmacy, or a home.  The rubric includes numerous hand-held devices offering new and more convenient established diagnostic utilities.  The most interesting technologies are miniaturized versions of central lab instruments that provide equivalent functionality – high performance, walk-away automation, and interconnectivity.

Our panel will address the driving forces behind the proliferation of new IVD companies and technologies, lessons learned thus far, and the prospects for these companies to emerge as substantial independent entities.